Dear Pali Friends,
Can someone help me with the following
passage from Paramattha-jotikā II, p.
398, commenting on the word aparaṃ in
the Subhāsitasutta. It occurs in the
stock phrase: Idaṃ vatvāna
sugato athāparaṃ etadavoca satthā ("Having
said this, the Fortunate One, the
Teacher, further said this:
...").
Tattha aparanti
gāthābandhavacanaṃ sandhāya vuccati.
Taṃ duvidhaṃ hoti – pacchā
āgataparisaṃ
assavanasussavanaādhāraṇadaḷhīkaraṇādīni
vā sandhāya tadatthadīpakameva ca.
Pubbe kenaci kāraṇena parihāpitassa
atthassa dīpanena atthavisesadīpakañca
‘‘purisassa hi jātassa, kuṭhārī jāyate
mukhe’’ tiādīsu (su. ni. 662) viya.
Idha pana tadatthadīpakameva.
Here is my tentative translation:
Here,
the word “further” (aparaṃ)
is used with reference to the
statement that connects the verse
[to the prose]. That is done in two
ways: (1) With reference to an
assembly that has arrived late, as
the confirmation and reinforcement,
etc., of what has not been heard and
what has been well heard, and (2) as
illustrating its meaning. And
“illustrating a particular meaning”
[is achieved] by illustration of a
meaning that for some reason has
previously been omitted, as in the
case of the verse, “When a person
has taken birth an axe is born
inside his mouth” and so forth (Sn
657).
I'm particularly stumped by the
expression assavanasussavanaādhāraṇadaḷhīkaraṇādīni
vā sandhāya. Is the long compound to be
taken as a four-term dvanda (assavana +
sussavana + ādhāraṇa + daḷhīkaraṇādīni)?
Or is there a tappurisa relationship
between assavanasussavana and
ādhāraṇadaḷhīkaraṇādīni (which is how I
have tentatively rendered it)? And what
exactly is the role here of
assavanasussavana, "non-hearing" and
"well-hearing"?
As I understand it, the reference to the
verse about the axe in the mouth is
brought in to show that what is missing
in the prose (the parihāpita attha) is
an explicit condemnation of slanderous
speech. In the prose the Buddha only
warns Kokaliya not to malign Sariputta
and Moggallana, but he does not draw a
general principle from this. The verses
bring out the general principle. Of
course, I could be completely off base
here.
I welcome any comments. Thank you in
advance.
Best wishes,
--
Ven. Bhikkhu Bodhi
Chuang Yen Monastery
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